What most convinces me that global warming is real is that those who argue against it usually sound about as honest and trustworthy as a used car salesman.

Ian Wishart released a new book recently, Air Con, all about how global warming is a big big phony. I browsed a bit of it because I like to be reasonably well informed about important scientific matters regarding the planet Earth.

What Ian doesn’t seem to understand is that if you’re going to question the integrity of scientists, it’s a good idea to have the absolute highest integrity yourself. So if you’re going to criticise a scientist for using the word ‘probably’ in their articles, it’s a good idea to not also have used the word ‘probably’ in your own work two paragraphs previously. And if you’re going to quote statistics, put them in context – for example, don’t tell us how many scientists don’t believe in global warming if you’re not going to tell us how many scientists do. Especially if you’ve only just criticised Al Gore for manipulating statistics to suit his purpose – most likely the reader will now be sensitive to how you could also be manipulating statistics yourself.

Radical politicians should never be trusted to talk about science for exactly the same reason that compulsive liars should never be trusted to talk about science.

I’ve made a few changes to my shadow puppet comic since I was last working on it – like, they have elbows now instead of flexible tubes for arms* – so I’m redoing all I’ve done so far in this style. I thought about leaving it as it was and explaining it as the natural stylistic evolution that pretty much every comic ever goes through, but when this happens 1.25 pages into the cartoon it just seems like I hadn’t been prepared enough when I started.

It’s also kind of a test to see how dedicated I am to this comic. I don’t want it to turn out to be just another one of those ideas I work on for a week then give up on. If I can be bothered redrawing what I’ve already drawn, then maybe it’s an idea I’m actually prepared to commit myself to.

* I asked Mr. Nobody for their opinion and they thought Marge Simpson looked sexier with elbows.

I’ve learned that with some practice, I could possibly develop acceptable drawing skills. This is comforting to know, but a waste of time, since I work five days a week and it’s much more convenient for me anyway to quickly slap things together out of squiggly, wiggly bibbles and jackhammers.

I think I’ll return to the shadow puppet thing. There was nothing really wrong with that, but the possibility of working with Mr. Nobody came up.

My girlfriend and I watched the Doctor Who easter special yesterday. Obviously we acquired the recording through legitimate means somehow. Ha ha ha! Yes.

I don’t understand what they were thinking. Lady Christina de Souza? They made the Doctor’s companion… a spoiled, bored, obnoxious aristocrat?

Obviously they looked at the mood of the times and concluded that people are hugely sympathetic towards the idle rich right now. You know, with the recession, the government bailouts, the very principles of capitalism in question…

I don’t usually think about how entertainment should reflect the mood of the times, but with a new Richard Curtis movie and this Lady Christina de Souza character, I’m definitely thinking there are areas not to go.

Okay, so I hadn’t been paying attention. Apparently the demonstration wasn’t to prove that Bain Senior couldn’t reach the trigger… it was to prove that he could, but only with some difficulty. Like, yeah… he couldn’t have done it because it would have been slightly inconvenient for him to bother.

I was reading about this in the paper today. Apparently Bain Senior was also wearing a hat and hadn’t been to the bathroom. In other words, nothing was said that proves anything one way or the other. Or in fact says anything about anything.

I don’t see how anyone could possibly have strong feelings one way or the other about this case. Nothing seems to prove anything either way. I guess if it were a clear-cut case, it would be too boring for the papers to put on their front pages.